5 Questions you need to ask before buying a new SaaS tool
Buying and renewing SaaS is difficult and time consuming. To help make this process simpler and more effective, we have set out a few questions that everyone should ask before purchasing a new tool.?
This may seem obvious but can often be overlooked. The first step in the process is to define exactly what problem you’re trying to solve. This could vary from saving cost to improving productivity. Make sure you also set out objectives to make them measure.?
2. What are the alternatives?
With the large offering of software solutions it can be very tempting to get excited about a banner, demo or outreach from a company. Always explore how your existing tools can help you towards specific use cases. There are typically plenty unused features in current systems or simple cost-effective add-ons that can perform the task.
If not, always have multiple vendors engaged in the buying process to make the best informed decision on price, features and functionalities.?
3.. What do you need the product for?
Ask yourself what the product needs to do and be careful not to get carried away in the sales process by features you won’t be using anyway. Please write down first which product meets your required needs before comparing additional features.?
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4. For how long are you going to use this product?
Buying, evaluating and adopting a new solution can be a very lengthy process. Define how much this product will be used and if it is worth the time spent on it. Make sure that the tool will have a long-term impact on the organization.
5. How will you measure success?
The majority of SaaS propositions fall within the following categories: save time and improve productivity, save effort and improve efficiency, save money or increase revenues.?
Define what success looks like and how you’ll measure this. When following this process you’ll be able to quantify reduction in time and spend.?
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These questions will help you and your team buy software more effectively. As SaaS spend and the number of applications continue to rise, finding the right balance can be tricky.?
The Pengu platform helps you organize and streamline your software portfolio in one single dashboard and leverages data and expertise to help you unlock savings opportunities. We help you constantly monitor, negotiate and optimize your software stack to save you time and money.?
Senior Manager, IT Operations at EVBox
1 年6. Do you already have a SaaS application with overlapping functionalities OR the potential to be enhanced to unblock the problem you're trying to solve (question no. 1)
Co-Founder & CTO @Zigi.
1 年Thanks Pengu! great checklist ??
EMEA sales @ Sanity.io
1 年Super nice insights! I would add what are the non-license costs and other risks. Often SaaS ticks all these boxes, but project still fail or have too little people assigned to them to succeed. Monitoring TOTAL costs of ownership, building additional room into the budget for feature upgrades/additional FTE's generating an exit plan if you have to pull the plug, all be considered before making the purchase.